Hourglass
by Vampy Kitten
Summary: I'm alone. No one's left...What am I going to do? Is there anything I can do?...How did this happen? Why?...I was supposed to save the world, but now, what's left for me? I might as well be dead, then maybe this pain would be gone...I'm sorry, Kami, I failed...With one last chance, Namikaze Takara goes back to change it all. .:FemNaru, time travel:.
1. Prologue: Homecoming

Hello there! This is my second fic on FFN, and I have high hopes for this one. It is a FemNaru, I always did like Naruto as a girl. Beware, it is a bit short as it is only a prologue. Happy reading!  
>VK<p>

Note:  
>"Normal speaking."<br>**"Demonic speech/thought."  
><strong>_Inner thoughts_

**砂時計**

Dark gray clouds covered the skies above me. Raindrops pelted what would have been roofs, streets, and buildings, but all of these things were now reduced to rubble. I sat, alone, in the midst of it all. My fiery crimson hair was matted with blood and soaked with tears and rain. I crouched over the figure of a man, black hair covered in his blood along with the rest of his body.

Slowly, I stood. My tired cerulean eyes turned to the sky, as I shouted,

"Why Kami? Why me? After all I've done?" More tears slipped down my face. I began to form signs for a fire jutsu. The flames flared briefly, white hot color indicating the inferno-like temperature as they incinerated the body in front of me.

_I'm sorry Sasuke; I wish things had turned out differently for us…_

As I turned to leave the body of the only man I had ever given my heart to, I heard a voice resonate in my head.

**Well Takara, what are you going to do now? **asked the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune, known to a very few by his real name, Kurama. Sorrow laced his voice; I suppose after years of being caged in me, my human nature and attitude rubbed off on him. The other way around as well, I mused, as in these past years I'd become more bloodthirsty than ever.

_I have to look for the others…Even if they're not alive, they deserve a burial or a cremation, _I answered. I began to walk towards what would have been the Hokage tower. The deep hole in my chest tore even more as I gazed upon it. Had the war not come, Tsunade would have inaugurated me as the Rokudaime Hokage. Now, with no village to lead, that dream had no meaning, no true life anymore.

Reaching the rubble of the red building, tears rolled down my face as I laid eyes on the burned and bloody form of Tsunade, Baachan. The Hokage had done much for the war; she had been influential in saving many lives as well as taking them. Every injury she touched was healed in a matter of moments, and any assailants who came at her instantly met their death through her techniques. She finally met her match in the resurrected forms of Itachi and Kisame.

The two had been under mind control, as Itachi was still loyal to Konoha at the time of his death. But Madara was too strong, forcing the dead Uchiha to attack his beloved city. Baachan had taken them both down, before succumbing to her injuries. Not a single inch of her skin had been spared from Kisame's sword, and she had multiple burns over her body from Itachi's Amaterasu. The diamond on her forehead had been released, but still could not heal every wound. Even her genjutsu had faded, showing Baachan's true age.

I used an earth jutsu to prepare a grave for Baachan. After gently lowering her body into the ground, I covered it again with the dirt. Continuing on, I searched the rubble for any friends. Farther ahead, I came upon the bodies of Neji and Tenten. They had faced the spy Zetsu, and had won, but at the cost of their lives. Neji had several vines wrapped around him, each digging into his skin. Vicious red lacerations covered his body. He had obviously died from poison as his blood was a sickly shade of purple and his skin a ghostly color.

Tenten lay protected under his body, but a vine protruded through Neji's stomach and into Tenten's chest. He obviously did everything he could to protect his wife. Even in death, they looked peaceful, and they surely were happy together wherever they were. I used the same earth jutsu to bury them, saying a prayer for their souls.

Several other bodies of my friends had to be buried. Each one was like taking a stab to the chest, as I mentally noted each and every one of my dead comrades. True, I had not expected any to survive. Call me cruel, brutal, whatever you want, but this battle had been taken to a new level, one that I could barely stand as it were with the Kyuubi's help. Even now, I could feel myself fading. Slowly but surely, my own death would come, and then the Konoha shinobi would be no more.

I moved on, begging to the Gods to find someone, anyone, still alive. But, my cries were in vain. I came across Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon who had all died together, protecting each other's backs. Ino lay still not very far away from the trio, as still as a statue. Her mind was most likely shattered from her techniques that failed, as I could not see anything else that might have caused her untimely death. Chouji, the poor boy, was not far away, close to his childhood love even in death. Temari was battered and bruised, her fan had been used to break her neck. Shikamaru died facing Hidan; he had used a forbidden seal to send the mad Jashinist to Hell once and for all. Sakura died saving Lee; the lovable idiot had tried and failed to take on Deidara.

The last of the bodies made me start to sob. Kiba and Akamaru lay dead, bodies battered by different weapons. They'd been protecting the Hyūga Head, Hinata. Hinata had always been my best friend, even from childhood. What killed me the most was the fact that Hinata had been five months pregnant, barely showing. Kiba was so happy when Hinata had told him that he ran around the village in delight, shouting at the top of his lungs. I knelt beside Hinata's body, desperately feeling for a pulse.

_There! I...I feel it!_

"Hinata! Hinata! Please, please, don't leave me. What about Kitai? You can't leave us!" I yelled hoarsely, tears blurring my vision so much that I could barely see at all.

"Ta...ka...ra..." a weak voice called out.

I immediately reached for Hinata's hand, taking it gently into my own and stroking the back.

"Shhhh, I'm here, Hinata, I'm here," I comforted, voice cracking.

"I'm...so...glad...I could...see you...one last time..." she managed to get out, stopping to cough up blood a few times.

"No, no, no, Hinata, don't talk like that! You'll be fine! I can heal you, Kurama and I can do it!" I told her, refusing to back down.

"You know...that won't work..."

"Please, Hinata, please..."

"I'm sorry...Takara...So very...sorry..."

Hinata's head rolled to the side, limp. A loud scream echoed in my ears, and it took several minutes for me to realize that it was my own voice emitting the awful sound.

_I can't take it anymore, I'm going to die anyway, and seeing everyone just tears the hole in my heart bigger_, I thought. I retreated to my mindscape, where a weary Kyuubi greeted me.

**At least that…monster…is gone, Kit, you got your revenge when you finished him off,** Kurama said. I nodded, but it was a small comfort that the leader of my friends' and lover's killers had died by my hand.

Uchiha Madara had orchestrated this whole thing. Thankfully, I'd managed to show Sasuke the truth of what Madara was doing, and finally bring him back to Konoha. He had recognized my feelings and returned them only a week before the final battle. A week had been long enough for us both to realize just how much we'd loved each other over the years, and to realize that we didn't have much time left, that we needed to make the most of what we did.

Sasuke and I had fought side by side against Madara. He had seen red when he had to face his no-longer-loyal subordinate, and had attacked Sasuke first. Sasuke, assisted by myself, had succeeded in grievously wounding Madara and slowing him down, but it was not enough.

Madara had struck Sasuke down when we were least expecting it, hoping that it would cause me to be too grief-ridden to fight. Unfortunately for him, it backfired, as I drew on all nine tails of Kyuubi's power in revenge. I had ended up killing Madara, but it wasn't without a great cost. I honestly would have preferred that I died to kill him, and everyone else had lived instead.

I moved to peel off the seal holding Kurama.

**Kit, what're you doing?**

_Releasing you. I no longer have any wish to stay in this world, and if I'm going to die, you should be free. In these past years, you have become an older brother that I never had, Kyu-niisan. Thank you for that, and I want you to be happy if I'm going to be happy…_

**No, Takara, I have enough strength to complete one final jutsu. It is a jutsu only known to the king of demons. It requires a great chakra price, for it sends people back in time…**

_What? But Kyu-niisan…won't you…die…from that? _I couldn't stand the thought of my only companion dying. If the jutsu failed to work, and I was left without him, I would surely go insane, and die shortly after.

**In a sense, no…you will be going back to before I died so I will still be alive. You must merely use this jutsu to transfer my memories…**

Kurama showed me what to do, hand signs and theory flashing through my head at blinding speed. He then stooped to my level, crimson eyes peering into my own as he began to speak again.

**I am going to send you to a different dimension. One where you should not exist, but by me doing this jutsu, you will. In this dimension, the Yondaime has a son named Naruto whom he seals me into. I will send you back to be born a few years early, making you his older sister. That way, if the Akatsuki come, it should be harder for them to get you if you are older.**

_I understand…but how am I going to get you sealed in me?_

**Originally I was to be sealed in you at birth, but Madara intervened before that could happen. In this dimension, Madara will not know about you until it is too late and I am sealed into you.**

_Sounds feasible. But you and I both know that you cannot just create a human being. I have to have an 'empty', so to speak, body to inhabit. Am I going to have to force another soul out, essentially killing it?_

**No, no, no, you will do no such thing Takara. In the timeline I will be sending you to, your parents' first child, you, was a stillborn. I will be putting you in the place of that lost child, therefore not killing anyone in the process.**

_Alright…_

**One last thing, Takara... This jutsu I am about to use will be sending your soul back in time, taking any of your mental abilities with it. However, these capacities would easily overwhelm your tiny, infant brain, killing you the instant you conscience reaches its new body. Since we can't have that, I need to put a seal on you. It will be a time-restrictive seal, slowly opening as the years go by, and your strength should be fully returned by the time you reach sixteen, unless something goes wrong in the process, which it should not. Hold still please...**

Kurama morphed into his human form, a young adult male who had flaming red hair, not unlike mine, and red, slitted eyes. A brush and ink appeared midair, and he instructed me to expose my lower back. Cold ink was brushed across in a pattern, and it took several minutes for the seal to be completed.

**Are you ready hime? Because the moment I activate this, you will be restrained to the mental capabilities of a year-old baby.**

_I'm ready niisan._

Kurama pressed his thumbs on either side of the ink, and I heard low whisperings, finally ending with **"Fuuin!"**.

Immediately, the darkness began creeping in, and my thought process slowed drastically. Kurama's hands flew into a blur as he performed the jutsu. Hundreds of hand signs were created with the perfection only a demon could deliver. A large spike of chakra, the last bit Kurama had, was pushed into the jutsu.

**"Toki no Keshin: Jikan o Gyaku Suna!"**

A flash of light enveloped me, as I was transported back in time. When I opened my eyes again, I was looking straight into the face of one Namikaze Minato.

"She looks like your clone Kushina…What are we going to name her?" Minato asked. A weak voice replied from the bed,

"I always...did like...Takara…Minato…" Kushina rasped.

"Takara Namikaze, welcome to the world…"

**砂時計**

**Original Jutsu in this chapter:  
>Toki no Keshin: Jikan o Gyaku Suna <strong>(Chronos: Reverse the Sands of Time): A demonic jutsu. Can only be used by the Kyuubi, Hachibi, and Shichibi, as the cost of chakra is very severe. It has the ability to transport one soul back in time, but only within said soul's lifetime, as it does not transport the body. It can also be used to bring a soul across dimensions, but that takes much more of a sacrifice, requiring a demonic soul to achieve such a feat.

**Recommended Read:  
>Naruto: Rise of the Emperor Revised <strong>by Snafu the Great  
>NarutoHinata  
>Naruto and Hinata Namikaze are the Emperor and Empress of the West. As Konoha faces destruction, can they put aside their mistrust of the Leaf and aid them...or will they let Konoha burn? Complete<p> 


	2. Renewal

Hello! How are you all today? Well, I'm good, thanks for asking! This chapter is finally in the past. Not that I liked Takara's future or anything, but I wanna write about her new past more.

**砂時計**

Bright light assaulted my sensitive eyes, and many sounds and smells were absorbed through the other senses. Where was I? What had happened? I could hear people, but what were they saying?

I wanted to open my eyes so much, but it felt as if they were made of lead (Lead? What is that? Something heavy?)

_It's too difficult...can't do it..._

Soon enough the world faded to black again.

When I woke again, I felt something warm pressed against my body. On instinct I snuggled farther into it.

"There, there Takara-chan. I'm your ka-chan, Kushina. You're such a beautiful little baby, I can't believe you're mine!" a soothing voice whispered into my ear.

"And I'm your tou-san little one. Minato. I love you so very much, your ka-chan and I both do," said another familiar voice.

"Mmmhh," I mumbled. Ka-chan? Tou-san? They were familiar, but also not at the same time. I remembered their voices, but another part of me was overflowing with happiness from meeting them.

A feeling in my stomach slowly appeared, and I opened my lips, giving a small cry. Food, that's what I wanted, wasn't it? Food?

"Shh, shhh Takara-chan. Ka-chan's here, she's got you food," the woman said. I felt something plastic (Why did I know what that was? I don't think I've ever known it...) pressed to my mouth. I took to it greedily, drinking down its contents voraciously.

"My, you're such a hungry baby. There you go, finish it all up," the man said. Eventually I had consumed the entire thing, and whined when I could have no more.

"It's alright Takara-chan. You can have more later. For now, got to sleep. You have a long day going home tomorrow..."

As if those were the magic words, my eyes drooped, lids drifting shut and mind escaping off the dreamland.

The next time I woke, I had enough strength to open my eyes. The light wasn't so bright anymore, and I struggled to see anything far away from me. I was lying on something soft, and a colorful object was spinning overhead. The same woman's voice (Ka-chan?) was singing a lullaby to me.

"Akanbō ima shizukesa, ko shin'ai nemuru, mamī anata o aishite iru," she said, her beautiful voice fading away at the end. "Ohayogozaimasu, Takara-chan. Did you sleep well?"

The woman lifted me into her arms, and I immediately moved closer to her body heat.

_I never ever trade Tou-san and Ka-chan f'r anything..._

Later that night, when I fell asleep I was pushed inside my head (What was it called? I could not remember, and it bugged me...). Oddly enough, the body I inhabited inside my mind was of a two-year-old. I slowly pushed myself up, unused to walking on two legs yet. The first few steps were very wobbly, and I nearly fell several times. After picking myself up for what seemed like the umpteenth time, I heard a low chuckle down the corridor.

"Who...there...?" I spoke, startling myself when the words I'd been thinking came from my lips.

**"A little prodigy already. Come near, child. I promise not to hurt you," **the deep voice said, a malevolent undertone frosting its words. I already did not trust this...being...inside of me. Or at least, what I assumed was inside of me.

I walked towards the voice, and came upon a sewer-like area, with a large grate covering one of the openings. The kanji for 'seal' was on the posts, and the sound of a large animal emanated from behind them.

**"Don't be afraid human child, I won't hurt you. At least, not yet," **the voice said as deep crimson eyes flashed open deep in the blackness.

"Ah!" I yelped, falling backwards onto the ground. "No nice, kitty-chan. No scare me."

The being laughed, showing its bright white canine grin.

**"Such an innocent little child, thinking she can order me around," **the thing said to itself.

"Who you?" I demanded, wanting to know exactly who was in my body.

**"Once again, a little prodigy. Not even two months old and already thinking like a two-year-old."**

"I ask 'gain. Who you?!"

**"Now is not the time little human. You will find out one day."**

And with a swish, a warm feeling flooded my body and I was pushed back into unconsciousness.

**"Oh, and I'm actually 'foxy', by the way..."  
><strong>

* * *

><p>That next day, Tou-san was trying to feed me a bottle, seeing as Ka-chan was busy.<p>

"Come on Takara-chan! You need to drink your bottle in order to get stronger," Tou-san said, trying to coax me into drinking my bottle.

_But I no want bottle. I want your food._

After I finished drinking, Tou-san changed me and got me ready to go out. Ka-san finished with her work around the house and they both took me to my one-month doctor's appointment.

"Ohayo Minato-san," said the receptionist (What is receptionist? Why do I know that word?) Foxy chuckled in my head. The lady looked at Tou-san oddly, but I could not tell why.

"Hello Megumi, we're here for Takara's check-up. It should be with Dr. Takenaga, right?" Tōu-san said. I heard the lady named Megumi shift through some things.

"That is correct. She'll be on the third floor, room 309."

We magically changed spots, it was very interesting. I got this weird fuzzy feeling then we were somewhere else entirely. We waited for a few minutes before the doctor came in.

"Kushina-chan! You look great! And this must be little Takara-chan," the doctor said.

"Ohayo, Hikari-chan. Yeah, we're here for the one-month checkup," Ka-san replied.

"Well, let's get this little one on the table then."

I saw the outline of the woman come towards me. Dr. Hikari Takenaga, as Ka-san called her, lifted me from Tou-san's arms. I whined a bit, already missing the comfort and warmth that I had been enjoying.

"Aw, so cute! Already missing her daddy!" Dr. Takenaga cooed.

I was set down on a cold table, and an involuntary shiver ran down my body. I zoned out for a bit, as nothing very interesting was happening. I felt the doctor check me over, so they could be sure nothing was wrong. Eventually, I returned to paying attention.

"…She is perfectly normal, albeit growing a bit quickly, but we see that in a few children who just naturally develop faster. She will need a few shots before leaving, though, so bring her down to room 211 for that, alright?"

"Alright," I heard Ka-san say. One of the two of them gathered me into their arms.

After getting my shots, (which I cried through, unhappy to have them administered) Tou-san and Ka-san took me home for some rest. When they did arrive home, Ka-san put me into bed to sleep.

My life continued on in a slow-moving pace for quite a while. It seemed like the days stretched on and on, as there was so many things I wanted to do, but physically couldn't. For instance, I wished at times that my speech was as developed as it was when I was asleep. I had tried at one point to speak when I was awake, however the foxy told me not to, because I would supposedly scare Ka-chan and Tou-san. I didn't see why, but figured that I may as well listen to the foxy. He hadn't told me anything wrong before.

One thing I did notice was that I could continually understand things much better. It wasn't a very fast change, but it was definitely there. It came to the point where I realized that a year-old baby shouldn't have the comprehension that I did. I had different playdates with Ka-chan and Tou-san's friends' children, and when I watched them I could tell that there was something more to me. Eventually it bugged me so much that I went to go ask foxy for an explanation.

"Foxy, why my mind different from other kids? I mean, Karo-san and Mai-chan aren't like me. Why I different?" I asked one day, posing the question that had been haunting my mind for a very long time. As I waited for his answer, I peered down at my body, represented in my mind as that of a four-year-old.

**"I do not know, little human. I have been watching you as well, and there is definitely something abnormal about you, not just having me in your body. Your soul seems much older than it should be, and obviously your mind is progressing at a faster rate than your body is. It is quite the interesting puzzle," **he responded. **"Also, do not think that this conversation makes you and I any type of acquaintances. I want nothing to do with you, except for finding out why you are this way."**

"So that's how you feel foxy," I replied, flashing a cheeky grin.

**"Dammit, stop calling me that, insolent girl!"**

"Call me what you want, foxy, I leaving," I told him, turning to explore the rest of my mind.

Once I'd moved out of the sewer, I moved down a hallway of closed doors towards a golden light at the end. Turning the corner, I had to lift my hand to cover my eyes. The brightness near-blinded me, and once I got used to the change in light, I opened my eyes again. I stood in an endless meadow, full of grasses and wildflowers. A small stream cleaved the land in half, and many trees sprouted along its banks. Breathing in, it smelled fresh and flowery, a calming, soothing scent. Spreading my arms out wide, I ran through the the grass, giggling uncontrollably. I must've spent near a half hour just enjoying the place, when I tripped over something hard.

"Ouch," I muttered to myself, dusting off my clothing and looking at what had tripped me up.

It was a stone, one abnormally flat and roundish. getting up and walking over to it, I spotted another a foot or so away. Moving over to that one, I saw another, and pieced together that it must be some sort of path. As I realized that the first stone was the end of the path, I turned and followed the stone to wherever they led. I had no idea what was at the end, but since it was my mind, I didn't think it could be too horrible.

A minute or so later, I came to a small open space, free of any trees or grass. It was a perfect circle, I realized, and in the exact center lay someone, unmoving.

_Who is that? _I wondered, moving towards he or she cautiously. As I neared the figure, I realized it was a woman, about Ka-chan's age. She looked kind of like Ka-chan too, plus maybe a little bit of Tou-chan. When I got to her side, I realized that a thin film covered her entire body. Tiny, web-like strands of this red substance criss-crossed over her body, and when I went to touch them, my hand got really hot, so I stopped and stepped back as a precaution.

"Who are you?" I asked the foreign woman, receiving no answer.

Staring at her for a few moments, I began to feel the light, airy feeling of waking up.

"I'll find out who you are eventually," I told her, just as I faded away and reawakened in reality.

**砂時計**

**Recommended Read:  
>A Ripple in the Pond <strong>by Lady Hanaka (and its subsequent sequels)  
>SakuraItachi  
>Sakura Haruno is kidnapped by the Akatsuki, mainly one in particular: Uchiha Itachi. How will her friends take all of this? Will they forget she existed? Or, like a ripple in a pond, will her abduction spiral out and effect others around her? Complete<p> 


	3. Comprehension

Man, it feels like it's been so long since I've updated this, sorry for the long wait! Junior year isn't very kind to a writer, as most of you probably know. Anyways, I know I had more chapters of this before, but they just weren't cutting it for me, so this story is being stretched out and is taking a bit of a different turn. Fear not, I will be continuing this no matter how long is in-between updates. :)  
>VK<p>

**砂時計**

Ever since I'd found the lady, I could tell there was more to me than I knew myself. It was all very confusing, the idea that subconsciously I was missing pieces of me...something I could tell that was desperately needed. It was important, but _what_ was I missing? Each day it scratched at my brain, taking focus from whatever I was doing in the real world. I found myself spacing out many times, and Ka-chan and Tou-san began to lightly tease me about it. The foxy was no help, he merely made smart remarks about whatever I asked him, never once actually giving me an answer. It annoyed me to no end, and he knew it. Stupid foxy.

As far as living in the real world was concerned, I made sure to emulate children my two-year-old age. Mai Hyuuga and Karo Zumaki were my most constant playmates, and whatever they did I did, becoming a real life version of 'monkey see, monkey do.' I grew frustrated with their lack of development; it was taking so long for them to grow up and yet I had the knowledge that befitted someone probably three or four times their age. Not only that, but I'd been working on getting my body to match my brain, which was going to take a long time. As I was only a toddler, Tou-san and Ka-chan still didn't let me out of anyone's sight very often, and even when they did I was probably under watch and everything. It wouldn't surprise me if I never was _really_ alone, not once.

This confined me to working out things in my mind's eye. By playing with other children my age and older, I'd begun to piece together how much I was expected to learn and be able to learn. Never mind the fact that my brain soaked things up like a sponge, I had to pretend to take a few tries to get it right, especially on milestones, as Ka-chan and Tou-san called them, like walking. If I could walk perfectly right after my first step, I'm pretty sure that they would consider something amiss.

If only I had something, anything, to pass this lonely time with. I'd begun to feel much older than my 'playmates', and started to distance myself from them, preferring to stay with the adults. I caught the concerned looks Ka-chan and Tou-san gave me, but pretended that I didn't. They can think I'm antisocial all they want, as long as they don't catch the real meaning behind my actions.

Thankfully, one day I finally figured out what I could do to keep myself entertained while at the same time improving my skill set without notice. I'd been playing in Tou-san's library when he heard a knock at the front door. Standing, he passed me an inquisitive look.

"I wonder who could be knocking Takara-chan? Why don't you stay here while I go look really quick," he said, turning his back and heading to the other room.

I sat for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then I spotted a book lying facedown and half open on the floor. The spine had lettering on it that I couldn't quite make out, so I moved closer in order to read it.

_Fuuinjutsu? What is that again...? _I pondered, trying to match the words to anything I've heard or seen, or possibly even remembered.

Then suddenly a couple images came to mind. Different pictures full of black lines and swirls and other symbols. Then some of them would glow different colors, red, white, blue, any number of colors.

_I think I...worked with this...fuuinjutsu...before...it seems _very_ familiar...But that's not possible..._

I picked it up, turning the book open to the first page.

_"Chapter One: Basic Theory of Fuuinjutsu..."_

I immediately became enraptured in the pages. It was so _interesting_, this art of sealing. So many different applications! Storage, explosions, chakra absorption, on and on and on. I paid no attention to the outside world as I devoured this new idea.

I don't know how long I spent reading, learning something (it seemed) entirely new. When I was finally pulled back into reality, it was by Tou-san shaking my tiny shoulder.

"-kara-chan, Takara-chan. Dinner time!" he said, a pensive look on his face.

_Damn. He saw me. There's no way in hell he can't suspect anything. Um...how to play this off...I'm pretty sure that two-year-olds are not supposed to read..._

"Find anything interesting there Takara-chan?" Tou-san asked.

_Loaded question. Well, my best bet is to play ignorant._

I vigorously shook my head up and down.

"Is interesting," I told him, pointing my chubby baby finger at the discarded book next to me.

"Well then, you'll have to read some more, but later, okay Takara-chan? Ka-chan has dinner ready, and she has some ramen this time..." Tou-san said with a smile.

"Wamen!" I yelled, tearing off down the hall, fast as my wobbly gait could carry me. Behind me I heard Tou-san follow, laughing quietly under his breath.

_Phew. Maybe he won't think much of it..._

The rest of the night I spent doing my best to pretend that nothing was wrong at all. Which was a bit difficult as I noticed that Tou-san was paying closer attention to me than normal. Thankfully, I made it through the time and hid myself away in my room. Escaping into my mindscape, I found that I appeared in what seemed to be a library. Several books filled the ceiling-high shelves, and picking up one that looked familiar, I opened it to realize that it was what I'd just been reading an hour before.

_Well that's useful. It seems whatever I learn will appear in these books..._

Looking into the pages that held examples, I found myself wishing that I had some ink, a brush, and paper to try this out on. Then, just as I'd thought that, the items appeared next to me.

_Duh, mindscape, right, I probably control everything in here._

That night, I spent every moment testing out all of the seals that were featured in the pages of my new favorite book. It was mostly storage seals as I didn't want to try anything too dangerous, and I figured that the worst that could happen with those seals would be a disfigured rock I'd been practicing with. As a result, I was tired the whole next day, and had both Ka-chan and Tou-san wondering what I'd been doing. I did notice that different books on sealing, half-finished seal arrays, and seal schematics began appearing throughout the house, and despite the fact that it was likely a trap from Tou-san to understand how much I could comprehend, I soaked nearly every single one up. The only exceptions were ones that chunin or higher level ninja would have trouble with, those ones I stayed away from completely after pretending to try and understand it. The more techniques appeared, the more I read, which spawned in me a new sleep schedule, study one night then sleep one night and so on and so forth. I practiced it faithfully simply because of my need for new material to work with. Eventually I got to the point where I really didn't need as much sleep mentally as I used to, sure I needed to physical aspect to heal and such, but mentally I only needed half as much sleep as I used to, which had its ups and downs.

The only things that disrupted my new routine were playdates with my 'friends', not that I enjoyed them. It wasn't their fault, nothing close to that, but I needed someone who could think on a similar level as I. That was when I met Itachi Uchiha.

I'd been playing in my room when Ka-chan came to get me, saying that Lady Uchiha had come to spend time with her and that I should talk to her son Itachi. I almost resisted, thinking that this Itachi would be just like the other kids when he came up behind Ka-chan. I looked in his eyes and saw the intelligence behind them, so I agreed to come play to see exactly how smart he was. Sure, Itachi was only four - a year older than I - but I could still tell that there was something there, something demanding attention.

Itachi and I sat together playing with some toys for a bit, sizing each other up. I heard Ka-chan and Lady Uchiha conversing about their husbands, the war, and anything else they could think of.

"I don't like fightin'," Itachi said suddenly, peering at me with what I saw as an inquisitive look.

"Neither do I. It hurts so many people. Can't we do somethin' else to solve our problems?" I responded, stacking two red blocks on top of a purple one. Itachi showed slight surprise, but then covered it back up quickly.

"I did not 'spect you to be quite that...perceptive..." Itachi told me.

"There's a lot of things you don't know 'bout me Itachi Uchiha."

"The same for you, Takara Namikaze."

From that day on, Itachi and I continued to grow our friendship. Slowly the other friends I'd had dropped out of my life, but by then Itachi and I were quite close, and I didn't really care. Ka-chan had noticed how close I'd gotten to Itachi no doubt, because she began inviting Lady Uchiha over to our house regularly, and she would invite us to the Uchiha compound in return. I have to say, the place gave me the creeps. All the people looked really similar, and they all carried that stuck-up air befitting all Uchihas. The only two Uchihas that didn't were actually kinda cool, Obito and Shisui Uchiha. Obito-nii was on Tou-san's team, so he came around a lot (and spoiled me by bringing toys, but don't tell Ka-chan), and Shisui-san was Itachi's cousin, so he was at Itachi-san's house sometimes. I'm pretty sure that they were born into the wrong family, but whatever.

Up until this time, I had adjusted quite well to being the only child. My parents only had me to look out for and to spoil, which they did quite often. It did get lonely at times though, mostly when I had nothing to do and both parents were out. I remember an afternoon in February quite vividly though.

"So Takara-chan, your Ka-chan and I would like to tell you something exciting," Tou-san tossed out as he sat down at the table.

For a moment I tried to pick my brain for whatever they could be talking about, but coming up with nothing, I turned back to him and asked, "What?"

"Well," Ka-chan began, bringing over the plates and cups. "We just found out that you're going to be a big sister!"

I was surprised for a moment, but then happiness overtook the shock.

"Yay! Is it gonna be a boy or a girl? When's it going to be born? What're you gonna name it?" I asked in rapid fire.

"Hold on sweetie," Tou-san said with a chuckle. "We don't really know anything about that yet, besides that he or she should be born in October."

"But that's so far away, I want a sibling now!' I told them. "I'm tired of having no one to play with when Itachi's busy! I don't like being serious _all_ the time!"

"Patience kiddo, your sibling will come soon enough," Ka-chan told me, gathering me into a big hug and placing a kiss on my cheek.

"Ka-chaaaaan!"

The next day when Itachi came over I couldn't wait to tell him the news.

"'Tachi! 'Tachi! Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat!" I called the second he arrived at our house.

"Calm down Takara, deep breath so I can actually understand you," Itachi told me, a slight smirk teasing his lips.

"Guess what!" I replied excitedly after a moment to calm down.

"What?"

"I'm gonna have a little brother!"

"That's wonderful Takara! I was actually going to tell you about something Ka-san told me as well. It seems that we will have siblings the same age."

My smile widened even farther.

"That's so cool! Think they'll be friends like us?"

"I hope so. I do enjoy your company."

"Me too."

The idea of having a younger sibling was most definitely exciting. Itachi and I remained animated that entire afternoon, speculating exactly what they'd look like.

"Do you think that my sibling will look like Ka-chan or Tou-san?" I posed, looking over to Itachi who was sitting next to me on the floor.

"Possibly Minato-san. I mean, you look a lot like Kushina-san, so perhaps your sibling will be blond."

I stifled a laugh.

"What?" Itachi questioned, a confused look on his face.

"I wonder what your sibling would look like? Black hair, black eyes, serious beyond help?"

Even Itachi had to crack a smile at that.

One of the unfortunate parts of being friends with the heir of the Uchiha clan was that there was a lot of pressure on him. Sometimes Lord Uchiha, Itachi-san's tōu-san, would mutter about me being a distraction, thinking I couldn't hear him. At first I thought for sure this couldn't be true, but then I saw one of Itachi-san's training sessions because I came early for our playdate that day.

"You need to stop associating with that child so much, Itachi! She may be Minato's daughter, but the way that you are always around her is starting to make the elders question your intentions. They think that you might begin to...grow..._feelings_...for the girl, a girl who is not, may I remind you, of the Uchiha line, and therefore is not in your scope," Fugaku-sama said. "I am not against the two of you being friends, it is good for the heir to have ties to a family as influential as the Namikazes and Uzumakis, but I forbid anything more."

_What? Me and Itachi? No way, never gonna happen. Plus, we're only four and five! _Why_ is he thinking about this _now_? _I wondered, watching as Fugaku-sama continued on ranting at Itachi. _Poor Itachi. No wonder he likes coming over to my house more. If Tōu-san were like that I would want to get away all I could as well._

Then, of course, I had I trip over a tiny little pebble as I walked away to wait at the main house, catching both of their attention.

"Takara-san?" Itachi called out, coming over to my side. "Are you okay?"

"Yup, nothing much Itachi. Just a lil' scrape. It'll heal in a sec," I told him, watching as the customary steam appeared and the small wound disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place.

"That's still cool, no matter how many times I see it," Itachi told me, holding a hand out and helping me to my feet.

"Young lady, what were you doing over there?" Fugaku-sama called out.

"Just walking over to come see Itachi, sir," I replied.

"Did you hear anything?"

"No, sir, I just got here when I tripped over that silly rock," I said, lying flawlessly. Or at least, what I hoped was flawlessly. Trust me, when you have to learn to hide things from your parents, then you get good at lying.

"Alright. Itachi, you are finished for today, I expect you here at the exact same time tomorrow, understood?"

"Understood sir," Itachi answered, then gathered his weapons and turned back to me. "Shall we go?"

I nodded, and we headed to the main house to go sit and talk like we usually did.

"So, I know you were standing there for longer than you made out, how much did you actually hear?" Itachi asked, triggering a blush from me. "I'm assuming at least the last part from your reaction."

"Itachi, why is your tōu-san so insistent on not liking me? What did I ever do to him?" I questioned, genuinely wanting the answer.

"I think he's worried about my focus, that you'll distract me. He and the elders don't seem to like the fact that the only girl I've ever even become friends with is you."

"And does their worry have a legitimate base?"

"Not in the slightest, I can handle being friends with you and my job as heir."

I noticed he didn't address the second part of their complaints, but I decide not to push it. Though he'd told me outright that he could handle the pressure from them, I was still skeptical. There was definitely something different about Lord Uchiha every time I saw him, but I couldn't tell what. Perhaps that was it? He was getting more annoyed with me?

The thought of that prompted me to come early again the next time we were meeting at Itachi's compound. I stationed myself under the brush, and watched as Itachi sparred with his father, doing a damn good job for a five-year-old versus an old jonin if I do say so myself. Obviously though that wasn't enough for Fugaku-sama, as he kicked Itachi away and proceeded to storm over to him, grabing his shirt and pulling him to eye level.

"I've had enough Itachi! You are getting slower in training progress and you know it! There is only one thing that has changed since your rate of progression dropped, and it's been the girl. If you cannot pick your training speed up in one week, I'll forbid you from seeing her for a month at the least, do you understand?" Fugaku-sama yelled.

Itachi mumbled something, at least it sounded like a mumble, because at that point tears had begun to prick at my eyes and I rushed out, not caring if I made a scene. I heard Itachi call after me loudly, then someone else began to follow me but I ran on. I think that someone was Itachi, but I couldn't decide if I wanted to talk to him, so I kept running. Through the forests, over logs, around bushes I ran and ran and ran, until I was completely exhausted.

When I stopped, I looked around me to see where I was. I run far enough to reach a rocky outcropping that a river flowed from, and a little bit away I could hear the sounds of a waterfall. Moving to check it out, I found a beautiful sight. The slate grey rocks glistened with mist, and the rays of the sun refracted to form a rainbow just above where the waterfall met the pool beneath it. I sat on one of the large rocks on shore, breathing in deep, haggard breaths. I closed my eyes, enjoying the scent and sound of the rushing water, concentrating on nature.

_I really should do this more; it is very relaxing,_ I thought, mentally planning to sneak out a little more often as it wouldn't be the same to have guards with me.

"Takara-chan?" I heard behind me, recognizing the voice as Itachi's immediately. "Look, I'm sorry about what Otou-sama said. You're not a distraction at all, haven't I told you that?"

"But then why would you be doing worse in your training since we've been seeing each other more often?" I whispered, eyes still closed.

I felt Itachi sit near me on the rock.

"Because he sensed you there, and wanted you either gone, upset, or both."

I stopped to think; that did make sense, I haven't had much time to practice with suppressing chakra, instead focusing on seals. It would be easy for Fugaku-sama to sense me I supposed.

"I can understand that. I'm sorry about running away," I told him, opening my eyes again to see Itachi sitting a foot or so away.

"No matter, I'm sorry for my father saying everything that he did," Itachi replied. "So, you better now?"

"Yeah, I think so. Do you want to go back to your house or stay here? I kinda like it in this place..."

"Hn, we should stay here. Quite peaceful," Itachi told me, the slightest bit of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Sounds good."

**砂時計**

**Recommended Read:  
>Second Chances: Azure Blue Moon Rewritten <strong>by Starian NightZz  
>FemNaruMadara  
>AU TimeTravel FemNaru. Namikaze Sayo never meant for this to happen. All she wanted to do was to kill the councilors responsible for her current plight. So why the hell is she stuck in the time of the shinobi clan wars, befriending a young Uchiha Madara? In-progress<p> 


	4. Improvement

Hello again people! I'm aware it's been a bit since my last update, and the inspiration for this new chapter struck me recently so I began working on it again. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review! :)

**砂時計**

Following that afternoon that I spent simply talking with Itachi, my life began to return to a normal pattern. I would work extensively on my sealing skills overnight, then do some during the day so that if it was discovered just how much that I could do with seals, it wouldn't look nearly as suspicious. I also learned a trick that ended up being quite useful. By concentrating on a seal array or scroll explanation long enough, it was, for lack of a better word, 'printed' into my mind, like having photographic memory. So despite the fact that I had to pretend that I had no idea how to create said seals, I constantly improved my comprehension during the night.

One small problem that I came across once morning when I was trying to draw a storage seal in real life, was that my calligraphy skills did not transfer between my mindscape and reality, thus leading to several problems. Since, as everyone knows, handwriting is one of the most important aspects of sealing, as one line out of place can make a seal collapse, I needed to work on that, and fast. Though, there was no way I could in the beginning, as I was not supposed to know enough to solve that. I quickly remedied the situation by purposefully messing up many of my seals when I knew Tou-san was watching. After the tenth in a row malfunctioned one day, he approached me.

"Takara-chan, do you know what the problem with the seal is that you keep having?" he asked, crouching near my level.

"No, wha's wrong?" I questioned, mentally pleading for him to explain so I had an excuse.

"Your handwriting, it's not as developed as it needs to be for this seal, sweetheart. Let me show you what I mean," Tou-san replied.

He and I spent the next hour or two just sitting there, practicing my writing over and over and over again. Yes, it did get repetitive, however it was a change in my monotonous routine, so I could care less.

After Tou-san gave me that tips, I continued to learn and practice as much as I could. Well, as much as I could in my mind. In the real world I censored everything to (I hoped) make it seem like I was just a very intelligent child, something not completely unexpected as Tou-san _was_ a genius as a child as well. Just...not this early from what I'd heard them saying.

As time went on, I became increasingly antsy with my 'lack' of improvement in reality. It was at times like that when I sometimes wished I didn't have such an advanced mindset; sure, there were lots of upsides, but the downsides came pretty close to the same amount. The only thing keeping me from breaking and telling Ka-chan and Tou-san just how advanced I was, was the fact that it would bring people into my head to check things out and I didn't want them finding the strange woman.

As for her, I occasionally went and visited the lady. I would sit by her side, having a one-sided conversation, asking her questions that I knew she would never be able to answer unless I managed to wake her by some miracle. She was very pretty, high cheekbones, long lashes, and a calm, peaceful expression. I'd considered her a possible threat at first, and though I was still not completely sure about her, I had an itch in the back of my mind that told me she was completely harmless. Well, to me at least. The fox still had his suspicions of the woman.

Speaking of said fox, I began to dig a little deeper into exactly who he was. The chakra he possessed was definitely not human, which left me with only a few options. Demon, god, hanyou (half-demon), or something no one had ever heard of before. Every time I walked by his cage, I prodded him for more answers, but he could never say anything to me straight, preferring to give me riddles or mock me or just not speak at all. That infuriated me quite a bit, not that I would show it, but I think he knew anyways. Teasing me always had seemed like his favorite sport, considering that there wasn't much else to do anyways.

Eventually, the time came for my precious baby sibling to be born. Ka-chan had been growing steadily bigger every day it seemed, and I could tell by her attitude that she was at the stage where she just wanted the child out of her body and into her arms.

On a bright wednesday morning, Ka-chan finally went into labor. Tou-san rushed her to the hospital via shushin, promising to send someone for me, trusting that I'd be fine for a few moments on my own. I ran up to my room to grab the plush blanket that Kaiyo-bachan had helped me to pick out at the store. Sure enough, she appeared a few moments later, grabbing my hand and bringing us straight to the hospital. I stayed in the hall, hearing Ka-chan's groans and screams of pain.

"It's alright, you don't have to stay here Takara," Kaiyo-bachan told me, probably thinking I was a bit scared. True, it did disturb me to hear such a strong kunoichi like I knew my Ka-chan was in such pain, but I also knew she would live through it.

"I'm okay."

A few hours later, Ka-chan had calmed, and a piercing wail began to sound.

"Kaiyo-san, Takara-chan, you can come in now," the nurse called as she opened the door a bit.

I moved inside to take a look at Ka-chan and Tou-san. Ka-chan was tired looking, but she also looked very happy, gazing down at the bundle in her arms with a face of pure love. Tou-san softly stroked the baby's tufts of bright blond hair.

"Hi Takara, meet your new baby brother Naruto," Tou-san told me.

I peeked up into the blankets to see his scrunched up little face.

"He's so tiny and pink. Is he supposed to be that way?" I questioned. The adults in the room laughed, and Kaiyo assured me that he was fine. I handed the blanket over to Tou-san so that he could give it to baby Naruto.

"C'mon Takara-chan, let's let your ka-chan and tou-san get some rest. You can come see them tomorrow," Kaiyo-ba prompted, ushering me out of the room.

_Sweet dreams baby brother_, I thought, happy to be able to finally meet the newest member of our family.

It took a bit of getting used to, having another sibling, and also having a baby in the house. There were several times that I awoke, annoyed, from his cries, but then had to remember that he was a baby who didn't know any better, which made me calm.

The next time I met up with Itachi, he was just as excited as I was about Naruto. Well, excited in his own refined Uchiha way. His brother Sasuke had been born three months before, and his parents had had quite a bit on their hands, which kept him from coming over for a while. Nevertheless, I could easily spot the traits of a proud elder brother, one who'd already decided he was going to watch over his sibling with his life. In the same way, I made my own vow to make sure that Naruto had the best life I could possibly give him.

One day that wasn't particularly remarkable to say the least, I came to a breakthrough in one of my problems. If I could only improve my stealth skills enough to dodge people for an hour or so, I could begin to practice more advanced techniques in reality as well. The only problem was, how did I practice things like that while avoiding investigation at the same time? Then I realized how to do it when Tou-san and Ka-chan were telling me stories of their kid-years.

"You know Takara-chan, I used to be such a troublemaker. When I was just about your age, I began to get bored, and thought that it would be fun to dye my parents hair, or paint the walls multicolor. Thank goodness you haven't done any of that," Ka-chan told me, patting my head as she finished her small tidbit of a story.

"She probably takes after me, Kushi-chan, you know, dignified, refined, etcetera, etcetera," Tou-san quipped, earning him a swat on the back of his head.

"Shush, you. No need to put elitist ideas into her head at this age."

"So you're saying that when she's, say, nine, it'll be fine?"

A louder smack echoed through the house, and I covered my mouth with my hands in order to stifle the giggles that threatened to burst out.

"Oh, you think this is funny, do you Takara-chan?" Tou-san said, getting up and advancing towards me.

"No, no, not funny Tou-san, not funny," I replied, hastily backing up as he moved closer.

"Well in that case...better run Takara-chan!" Tou-san yelled, springing on me.

I darted out between his legs, pushing myself up quickly and rushing around to the back of the couch. Girlish giggles escaped my lips, and I let myself be simply a child playing tag for just a moment. Tou-san made his way around the couch and I ran away in the opposite direction. Charging up the stairs, I focused on quieting my footsteps while at the same time moving as fast as I could. Eventually, I came to a dead end in Tou-san and Ka-chan's room, and was forced to find a hiding spot very quickly.

_Let's see...under the bed? No, too predictable. In the closet? Also predictable. Ummm...Aha! The trunk!_

Springing towards my chosen spot, I heard Tou-san loudly walking through the hall, checking all of the rooms. I lifted the hinged lid, and tucked myself inside beside old kimonos from Tou-san and Ka-chan's younger days. Quietly, the lid shut above me, and I steadied my breathing. As Tou-san approached the last few rooms, I realized that he could probably just follow my chakra signature to where I was, and that it would be a good time to test those skills in a non-threatening situation. Concentrating completely on my core, I began to feel the rushing stream that was my chakra. Slowly but surely, I slowed the speed that it flowed at, and constricted just how much pulsed through my body. As soon as I'd gotten it as far as it would go, I heard the door open, and I almost lost my concentration.

_Keep focus, Takara. You slip and it's immediately obvious, if he hasn't found you yet, that is._

It took him a bit longer than usual, but Tou-san eventually found me. Light flooded my eyes and I blinked rapidly, adjusting to the new brightness.

"Impressive, Takara-chan. You've been practicing your skills quite a bit, I see. I could barely feel you out in the hall, and only a little bit more when I was standing right next to you," Tou-san praised. Of course, he probably wasn't trying to sense me anyways, but I'd take what I could get.

I beamed, happy to be praised.

"Thank'ou Tou-san, you teached me well," I responded, before ducking beneath his legs and running down the hall.

"Clever little girl," I heard him chuckle as he strolled along behind me.

Finally, I had found a way to start slipping away. Pranks looked perfectly innocent, and I bet Ka-chan was going to be kicking herself for giving me the idea...

For the next two weeks, I spent my time thinking up ideas and strategies. I couldn't be caught, otherwise I would get into a _lot _of trouble with the parents. The first one I tried out on Ka-chan and Tou-san was a simple temporary dye in their shampoo. I must say, seeing Ka-chan with black hair and Tou-san with pink made my day quite a bit more entertaining...

"Kushi-chaaaaaan! You talk about me putting ideas into her head and yet here she is starting to follow in your footsteps!" Tou-san complained that morning at breakfast. Ka-chan simply smiled and placed some food on his plate.

"Calm down Mina-kun, it'll wash out, it's not permanent right Takara-chan?" Ka-chan replied and ask me.

I nodded.

"It's pretty funny t' see you with color hair though," I teased, going back to the food Ka-chan had given me.

"As long as you don't do anything permanent, I'm game for whatever you can throw at me Takara-chan," Ka-chan told me, a mischievous grin on her face.

I mirrored the grin, already planning the next thing, as Tou-san simply face-palmed.

Following that day, I continued to plot and scheme different pranks to play on my parents and occasionally on my aunt, Namikaze Kaiyo, who was also coincidentally my most constant ANBU guard, not that anyone knew I knew. I began to venture out into the village more, and was constantly regarded as 'Takara-chan' or 'Takara-hime' by the townspeople and some of the ninja. That annoyed me very much; I didn't want people to see my Ka-chan or Tou-san when they looked at me, I wanted them to see me, Namikaze Takara. Sure, they may be some of the most influential forces in the war right now, and Tou-san pretty much a shoe-in for Hokage, but that shouldn't mean that I got special treatment. I forced myself to be calm, remembering that I was eventually going to be a ninja and that I'd build my own reputation there.

Over time, my stealth skills gradually improved. I forced myself to train chakra control whenever I had any spare time at all, often times multitasking while I was doing pranks on other members of the village so that the ANBU wouldn't think anything of it. It was a struggle, I'll admit. I realized that I had quite a bit of chakra, akin to that of a high jonin at the very least. That also meant it was incredibly hard to tame, but with enough repetition, I began to get a handle on it. The good thing about chakra control was that it was also a mental skill, one I could practice during the nights in my mindscape. Of course, I couldn't go overboard and bring suspicion onto me at my lack of rest, but I made due with what I could.

The increase in chakra control meant I could start working on the clone jutsu, which was simple enough to explain away if I was caught and a good technique I used to slip away. Unfortunately, even with all of my training, I was still unable to make a regular clone. after seeing Tou-san make what he called a shadow clone one day to help with his paperwork, I decided to copy him. I succeeded easily, and those began to become one of my go-to moves in escaping. The pranks helped me increase stealth and chakra suppression, while the occasional race with Ka-chan or game of tag with Tou-san attributed to my jump in natural speed. I may have used slight bits of chakra to assist me there, but barely any, which, I hoped, didn't tip anyone off.

Finally, once I'd become fairly good at all the areas needed, I began to sneak off every now and then. Never more than an hour, and never incredibly close, but I still managed to do it. I'd leave a clone in my spot and sneak out from under the ANBUs' noses, making my way off to practice whatever jutsu or seal I could in the forest surrounding the house. It worked incredibly well, and as far as I knew no one was any the wiser.

Eventually, time came for my sixth birthday. Of course, seeing as I hadn't many friends besides Itachi, he was one of the few people invited. Ka-chan busied herself the whole morning putting up simple decorations and baking a cake and whatnot. Tou-san and I were ushered out of the kitchen so that he wouldn't mess anything up and I wouldn't see whatever she was making. So, instead Tou-san and I spent the time playing shogi. He of course beat me, but that was besides the point. I had yet to get much practice strategizing, but that was quickly fixed.

"Let's play again!" I called excitedly as Tou-san replaced the pieces in their starting positions.

"Whoa, calm down there Takara-chan. Since when have you been so excited to play?" Tou-san asked, chuckling under his breath.

"It's a fun game Tou-san! Again!" I simple replied, stretching a childish grin across my entire face.

"Alright, let's play."

Tou-san made the first move, and I studied the board, trying to discern what the best opening move would be. I settled on one and play continued, both of us losing a sense of time until a bit later.

Eventually, Tou-san and I both sensed someone coming, even if he did several moments earlier. I could tell by the way he straightened his back and slightly lost focus in the game.

"Itachi's coming," I said simply, going back to the game.

"Very good Takara-chan your sensing abilities are improving," Tou-san commented as Itachi's form came into sight.

"Ohayo Minato-sama, Takara-chan," Itachi greeted, bowing to Tou-san. "I have a gift..."

"Here, I'll take that inside. Take over my game for me will you?" Tou-san suggested with a strange gleam in his eye and slight smile.

_You would leave us alone to figure out if there's anything going on Tou-san, _I thought, smiling up at Itachi.

"How goes things down in the compound?" I asked the seven-year-old who sat across the board from me.

"Okay. Otou-sama has still been hard on me in training, however it seems to be slightly less rebuke the more I improve."

"Well, getting better is a good thing, right?"

"It is. Except for the fact that I don't particularly like fighting, unless it is to protect my family or precious people."

"That's a very honorable view, I think."

The game continued for some time, until Itachi bested me.

"Very good game, you are an intelligent person Itachi," I told him.

He was about to reset the board, but I stopped him.

"I'm kind of bored of shogi. What should we do?"

"I'm unsure. What would you like to do?"

I paused, thinking for a moment.

"Aha, I know." A devious grin spread across my face. "Race you to the falls?"

A spark of competition flashed through his eyes, and we both raced off simultaneously on an invisible signal.

I dashed through the forest as fast as possible, feeling the wind whip past my face, tickled by the leaves here and there. The thought occurred to me that I should start practicing tree climbing and tree hopping as I'd seen my family and other ninja do, but at this point I hadn't begun that. In barely any time I appeared near the waterfall, situating myself on my favorite rock. Itachi was right behind me, slightly surprised that I'd managed to make it here before him.

"How did you do that Takara-chan?" he questioned, sitting next to me.

I could hear slightly shallow breaths and his chakra was slightly irregular, leading me to believe he'd tree hopped.

"I ran on the ground Itachi, I'm much more used to it than tree hopping like you."

"Aa, I see," Itachi responded, a comfortable silence descending on the two of us.

We simply sat next to each other for a moment, taking in the surrounding landscape. Birds chirped cheerfully, the spring flowers already blooming, trees green and full of life. I then got quite the mischievous idea. Standing slowly, I moved as close to the edge of the pool as possible. Mist sprayed my face from the end of the waterfall, and I was aware of Itachi's eyes on my every move. I then unbalanced myself, and began to 'fall' into the water.

"Ah, Itachi!" I cried in mock desperation. He was up in seconds, one arm around my waist to keep me from falling.

"Gotcha," I whispered to him, and propelled the both of us into the tumultuous waters.

The shock of cold water enveloped the both of us, and I quickly popped back up to the surface. Itachi soon followed, a mix between surprise and amusement on his face. His lips curved into a small smirk.

"Devious girl," he teased lightly, before returning to his near emotionless expression as usual.

"C'mon Itachi, give up the dignified Uchiha heir look and attitude for an afternoon at least, please?" I practically begged as I began to climb back onto the rock.

"Maybe," he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. That was quickly followed by a hand grabbing my foot and pulling me back in.

"That's more like it," I replied, splashing him lightly, which initiated a splash war between the two of us.

_Finally got the Itachi __Uchiha __to relax for at least a little bit. What an achievement_, I thought, mentally grinning.

**砂時計**

**Recommended Read:  
>Fancy Footwork <strong>by silver-footsteps  
>ItachiSakura  
>For Sakura, it wasn't about being cool. It wasn't about being famous. It wasn't even about the handsome college guys who hung out with her although that was an added bonus . It was the feel of the beat, the music and the adrenaline that consumed her. AU. Complete.<p> 


	5. Isolation

I would apologize for my extremely long break, but the truth is I've seriously just been focusing on school. You know how that works, school first, then the job that I now have, and _then_ I get to write. I have everything plotted out for this story so I _will_ finish it, it is just a matter of how long that will take. Don't worry, I don't abandon stories halfway. Hopefully this new chapter for you guys is good. Oh, and I also have created quite a few new photos to go along with this on my DeviantArt profile, oceanblossom . deviantart . com. Anyways, onto the story!

**砂時計**

That afternoon was one of my favorites in the entire world. Itachi and I had had quite a bit of fun before the adults came to get us once they discovered we were gone and where we were. True, we did get quite a scolding for that (Ka-chan was freaking out about us being gone I think), but it was completely worth it to see Itachi smile in a true, genuine way.

The rest of the day was fun as well, we had a few family members and friends over, played some games and had a bit of dessert. The adults at least attempted to be happy for once, which was something that we didn't really see often anymore. The war had taken its toll on everyone, losing family and friends, mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, or anyone else from their families.

One day I knew was different in particular was the day that Tou-san came home completely distraught, worse than I'd ever seen him before. Usually, Tou-san looked happy, a forced happy sometimes, but happy nonetheless. Whatever had happened had shaken him to the core and caused him to nearly crumble. Ka-chan was the only person who could help him then. I tried to run up to him and comfort him, but a look from Ka-chan made me stay away. The next morning Tou-san's mask was back on, though it was very obvious he was not alright.

"What's the matter Tou-san?" I asked at breakfast. He stiffened, indecisive on what to tell me for a moment.

"Takara don't bug your father. Now is not the time," Ka-chan chastised, but Minato turned to me anyways.

"It's alright Kushi-chan, I need to explain things to her anyways," he told her, turning his full attention my way. "You remember my team right?"

"Yeah! Kaka-nii, Obi-nii, and Rin-neechan!" I replied, happy but wondering where exactly he was going with this.

It was in that moment where Tou-san hesitated that everything clicked. The only people who were young enough and close enough besides me to trouble Tou-san was his team. With the way that Ka-chan was looking at Tou-san sadly and the tenderness that they approached the subject with, I knew the worst had to have happened to one or all of them.

"What happened on their mission Tou-san?" I asked when he couldn't come up with any words.

"There was…a situation…Rin-chan was taken and…Well, I had to go take a separate mission to another battle, and Kakashi and Obito couldn't agree on what to do to save her. They both went their own way, but they ended up in a cave that was crumbling. I only got there in time to save Rin and Kakashi. The rocks…they…they pinned Obito and…there was nothing I could do…" Tou-san explained, trailing off at the end, pain evident in his voice.

Tears began to slip down my face, both at the loss of Obi-nii and at the pain that everyone else must be feeling right now. I darted around the table and grabbed Tou-san in a hug.

"I'm sorry Tou-san. I'm so sorry…" I whispered in his ear, crying even more as a single tear slipped down his cheek. "It'll get better eventually."

I wasn't quite sure where that had come from, it sort of just slipped out in the moment. I'd never felt a loss before, so it couldn't be from experience, but there was something that told me it was something I'd learned before. Regardless, I ignored that train of thought and focused on the moment before me, extremely grateful that I had both parents still with me.

After that, I remained a bit more aware of just how bad the war was. Though the adults, for the most part, could hide what was happening from me, I did pick up on the gist of things about half of the time. The war was almost over, Iwa did not have many strongholds left, and that was making Tou-san and Ka-chan happy. Each time I slipped away, I never dared to go farther than our property ran. I think Tou-san set up seals or something to amplify his sensory abilities or whatever, but they were very complex and confusing and I've not seen any of them, so I don't quite understand how they work. This meant that even when I was practicing, Tou-san still knew where I was at least, which I suppose was inevitable. There was no way I was going to completely sneak away from the two geniuses I called my parents. The upside however was that they couldn't tell what I was doing, just that I was practicing some seals and working on chakra control.

Finally, the news broke. The Treaty of Ryokugyoku Toshi had been signed. The war was officially over. There was much celebration that day, but at the same time it was very bittersweet. The sacrifices were not in vain, Konoha still stood strong and proud. One of the most notable changes for our family was that Sarutobi-sama (or jiisan. But don't tell him I call him that) named Tou-san as his successor. At lot of changes would have to be made regarding the security of the village and about its future in general, and Tou-san had a lot of work cut out for him. I would have to take to helping out with Naruto at times, as both Tou-san and Ka-chan would be busy. Ka-chan was commissioned to look into the seals in the walls of Konoha, and one day since Tou-san had a bunch of meetings, Naruto and I were taken along with her.

"Do I have to come?" I complained as Ka-chan and I made our way to the outskirts. I'd been planning on working on more chakra control, but now that we'd be outside the village and since mom had work to do, I couldn't sneak off to practice.

"Yes, you do Takara-chan. Think of it this way, I can teach you more about seals as we go along," Ka-chan bribed. It worked a bit, I did want to know more, but I had other skills that were lacking in my opinion at the moment that I'd much rather have been working on.

"Fiiiiine," I consented, following along behind Ka-chan as we walked through the village. Ka-chan was greeted quite often, and it took her much longer to get through the marketplace than it usually did.

Once we got to the wall, I sat to the side and played with Naruto so that Ka-chan could work on the seals uninterrupted. She muttered to herself quietly as she always did when she was concentrating fiercely, and I tuned her out after a bit. We moved slowly along the wall, stopping at equal intervals to examine what looked like random marks on the wall but were actually vast sealing arrays compressed into a tiny space.

It was incredibly complex, each of these seals. They contained provisions for some barrier thing if it was ever needed, they had seals to reinforce the walls, sensory seals much like what Tou-san and Ka-chan probably used at home, plus many other uses.

Once, I did happen to notice a small flaw. It wasn't much, just a part of the seal that had been worn away slightly, but enough so that that particular one, a seal that shrunk that particular group, was slightly malfunctioning, revealing some of the actual characters that made up the seal instead of having them appear as scribbles.

"Ka-chan, you should probably redraw that line, it's broken," I pointed out, shifting Naruto to my one hip as she was about to close up the array.

"Oh, good point Takara-chan. Good point," she replied, touching up the line and then applying a bit of chakra to make the seals fade back into a minuscule black mark.

Looking back, I probably should not ave pointed that out. Those arrays were very complicated, and I shouldn't have known that the seal was even broken in the first place. Either way, Tou-san ad Ka-chan came to me with a proposal the next week.

"Takara-chan, we have something to ask you. So, your ka-chan and I have been considering this and we're going to enroll you in the academy early," Tou-san told me at lunch, one of the rare ones that he actually came home for. "We know that you've been practicing your skills outside of class and we understand that you're very advanced, so we've signed you up for the term that is starting next week. Is that alright?"

I was kind of taken aback. True, I'd wanted to develop my skills more, and true, I did want to become a ninja, to follow in Tou-san and Ka-chan's footsteps, but I did not think that it would be this soon. Most children entered the academy at eight years old, leaving me at least two years younger than everyone else.

"Sure," I replied, somewhat uncertain.

_I don't think I want everyone knowing exactly how strong I am quite yet. I mean, look at Kaka-nii. He's got a reputation for being a genius, so does Itachi, and with the way that everyone expects so much from them, I don't think I want to have that pressure. Not only that, but having an enemy that underestimates you in a battle can be a huge advantage. I'll go, but I'm going to be mediocre at best_, I decided, content with the situation.

My first day at the academy was what you could call a complete and total failure. From the moment I walked through the door, it was kind of obvious that I was not going to be accepted.

"Class, please, settle down," the teacher called, trying to get all of the rambunctious children into their seats.

I had picked a desk right next to the window in the middle section of rows. I didn't have anyone sitting in the desk next to me, and the two kids behind me were a big fan of gossiping and talking during the entire lecture.

True, I didn't really know what to expect, going into the academy early as both a 'prodigy' and 'the Hokage's daughter' brought a lot of attention with them. When I first got here, I had said goodbye to Ka-chan and Tou-san after the welcoming ceremony, giving them one last hug. The whispers started there.

"Look! It's the Hokage's little girl!"

"She's a bit young isn't she?"

"Great, yet _another_ 'prodigy' child."

"She's probably not even _that_ good."

I tried to ignore the comments, I really did. There was no point in responding to them at all. But I couldn't help but hear everything directed towards me.

The lesson wasn't much, just a bit about the expectations of the students at the academy and a bit about the ranking system of ninja. Basically, lots of things that I already knew. Once the bell for lunch rang, I quietly made my way to the benches outside, trying to stay out of the way of the flood of children. Unfortunately, that wasn't necessarily possible, as they encompassed the entire hall that fed outside.

"Hey! Watch where you're going squirt!" someone exclaimed and I felt a forceful shove that sent me toppling to the pavement, my lunch scattering in several ways.

There were a few children who laughed as they darted past, but finally the way was cleared. My lunch, unfortunately, had not survived. It was smooshed into the ground and I didn't really think any could be salvaged. Since there was no dishes to bring back home to Ka-chan, I just settled with tossing the entire thing into the trash.

That day was the beginning of my less than ideal time at the academy. I began by trying to be mediocre, only answering some questions but always giving the correct answer. True, I could probably have answered every single one correct, but that wasn't my intention. Soon enough, people began to question why I was even in the academy at all.

I will admit, I didn't really factor in how much the people around me would affect my time in the academy. I thought that I'd be able to go through, ignoring those who made their opinions known about me. i was apparently wrong, as each afternoon after the day was over, I never once came home in a completely happy-go-lucky mood. Sure, there were days that were better than others, but there was not a single particularly _good_ day.

Ka-chan and Tou-san picked up on my unhappiness, and also on the fact that I wasn't doing as well as I could have been.

"Really Takara? You missed six points? You _know_ all of this," Ka-chan prodded one afternoon as she was feeding Naruto.

"I know, I know," I mumbled as I simply slipped past her, heading up to my room.

I didn't really feel like going over my failures with my parents. Another thing I hadn't factored in with hiding my skills was how my parents would feel. The last thing I wanted to do was disappoint them. However, I was too far into my plan now to back out and begin doing exactly as well as I should.

As I began to relax on my bed, I became aware of the conversation between my parents downstairs. Or, to be more specific, I became aware it was about me.

"Minato, we need to do something about Takara. She's obviously not doing well in the academy, we both know she's better than she's acting," Ka-chan pointed out, concern etched into every word.

_At least I know that they love me and care for me. Not that I ever really wondered._

"What do you want me to do? I can't just take her out without reason."

"Something needs to be done though! She'd flourish somewhere else, I know."

"Again, what do you want me to do?"

"Ah…"

There was a few moments of silence.

"What if we trained her ourselves? There have been a fair few cases of single students being apprenticed."

"I'll be called out on favoritism, letting my own daughter drop out."

"I don't care! Our _daughter_ is suffering and you're not doing anything!"

"It's not that I don't care Kushina! I really want her to thrive, I do. I just don't want her success to be tainted."

"So don't teach her. I'll teach her."

"You can't teach her everything. I mean, you are a wonderful ninja Kushi-chan, but what about genjutsu? That's not exactly your strong suit."

"I'm not saying that it would just be me. I'm saying that I could teach her mainly, just because I'd be here with her a majority of the time, but that I could get others to help to. I'm sure Kaiyo would love to teach her favorite niece."

"She only has one niece."

"I know, that's why Takara's her favorite."

I smiled slightly, and I could tell Ka-chan's mood was lightning as well.

"Perhaps. Maybe this could work after all."

Satisfied and deciding I'd heard enough, I went back to reading a seal array, tuning out my parents.

_Perhaps this will be for the best,_ I mused._ If I only have a few teachers who know me personally, they can be persuaded to keep my abilities hidden. Also, I don't have to deal with those immature children who care more about boys and makeup and rough housing than actually becoming ninja who will put their lives on the line. I swear, you'd think we've been in a time of peace by the way some of them act!_

A knock resounded at the door.

"Come in."

"So Takara-chan, we were thinking-" Tou-san began.

"Yes," I told him, an explanation not necessary since I'd heard the discussion.

"But you don't know what we're going to say," Ka-chan said, coming up behind Tou-san who'd made his way into my room.

"Yes I do. Your arguing isn't exactly that subtle," I teased, a slight smile perched at the corner of my lips.

"Or you were eavesdropping," Tou-san replied bluntly but with a teasing undertone.

"It's all in the perspective," I told him. "But, going back to why you're here, I would much prefer to be an apprentice than to be stuck with those arrogant children."

"It's settled then. Following the completion of this term-" Tou-san started.

I groaned.

"We can't just take you out in the middle Kara-chan. Besides, you only have a few weeks left," Ka-chan reminded.

"Fiiine. You were saying?"

"Well, once the term is over, we'll be pulling you out and teaching you independently. You'll need to take the genin exam once we think you're ready, and we'll figure out how to get you placed on a team later," Tou-san explained.

A full-fledged smile crossed my face, and I darted forward, looping one arm each around Ka-chan and Tou-san.

"Thank you."

**砂時計**

**Recommended Read:  
>Crimson Dreams<strong> by BelleDayNight  
>ItachiSakura  
>Sakura is being haunted by the ghost of Itachi Uchiha. Her duties at the hospital have been interrupted for a solo mission to either recruit or end Sasuke in order to protect both Naruto and Konoha. Success hinges on the aid of a dead man haunting her dreams, getting over her old crush, righting the wrongs of years past, and smashing things along the way. In-progress.<p> 


	6. Enrichment

Hiya guys! I'm back, and way sooner than a year from now. Spring break does tend to give one ample amounts of time, so I hammered out this chapter for you all as well. Also, I've gone back to the previous chapters to fix a few errors, the main ones being a few continuity issues and then our favorite blond knucklehead. Not gonna lie, I almost forgot to mention that he'd, in fact, been born. feel free to go back to read if something doesn't seem to make sense. Enjoy!

**砂時計**

It wasn't really that hard to continue the rest of the term after that, knowing that I had a better situation to come. I did improve my grades a bit, just so that the last view of me that my teachers would have wouldn't be as the average, spoiled child of the Hokage.

I didn't really know what to expect going into apprenticeship, but I was definitely not prepared for what I got.

"Wake up sleepy head!" Ka-chan near yelled in my ear the first morning that I was supposed to be working with her.

"Mmmm. Go 'way," I mumbled, rolling over to the other side of the bed.

"Nope, it's time to get up, we've got training to do!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Why are you so positive? It's _six a.m._"

"Just get up and meet me outside in five minutes."

"Arg."

I heard mother leave the room, calling back one last time:

"I _will_ come douse you with water if you're not down here!"

Deciding I'd rather be tired and dry than awake and soaking wet, I stumbled out of bed, slipping on the first t-shirt, shorts, and shoes I could find, and made my way downstairs as I tried (unsuccessfully) to put my hair in a ponytail. Apparently I looked odd, because Ka-chan began to giggle when she saw me.

"Here, let me do it," she said, taking the hairband and my hair and taming it into a high ponytail easily.

"Thanks," I mumbled, still half asleep but getting progressively more awake. "Where's Naruto?"

The absence of my sibling was easily noted, as he was always attached to Ka-chan's hip no matter what she was doing.

"Inside with a shadow clone. Now focus! Today I am going to see exactly how good you are. There will be now holding back like I know you were. Give me all you've got."

A small smirk graced the corner of my lip and, after sending a burst of chakra throughout my body to get me awake, I burst into a wisp of air, shunshining into the surrounding trees.

"Catch me it you can!" I taunted, throwing my voice across the clearing.

Ka-chan was gone immediately, and I created about a dozen shadow clones which all ran in different directions as I concealed my chakra, resting up in a high branch for a moment.

_Damn, I don't have any brushes or ink. Guess I'll have to get those on my own_, I realized.

After applying a version of henge that made me fade into my surroundings, I darted towards the house, trying to keep aware of where Ka-chan was. I felt one of the clones disperse and smirked at her half surprised, half annoyed expression. As far as I knew, she had no idea I could make shadow clones. An advantage that I'd now lost, but she _did_ say not to hold back.

I quickly found a few small scrolls, ink, and a brush, and began to draw up one of the seals on my arm I knew would be useful.

"Kanzen'na chinmoku, fuin!" I mumbled, standing in order to test and see if the seal was working. Jumping up and down a few times, there was no sound to accompany my movements, and I smiled, grabbing the items as well as my pouch that was sitting on the table. I tied the canvas to my right leg and cautiously made my way back outside. Redoing the henge, I ran across the middle of the field, making my way almost to the trees on the other side before a blur knocked me off my feet.

"Oof! Ka-chaaaaan!" I called, squirming out from under her and dusting myself off.

"I will admit, that is very good for a kid your age. But did you really think shadow clones and a henge variation was going to keep me off for _that_ long?" she queried.

"No, not really. But it was the first thing I could think of."

"And it was pretty good too. If you hadn't gone inside the house, it would've taken me a bit longer to find you. Don't you remember the seals registering everyone who enters?"

I hung my head, that fact now prominent in the forefront of my mind.

"I knew that."

Ka-chan laughed.

"I'm sure you did. What I would like to know, however, is where you found the shadow clone jutsu. I know neither your father nor I have taught you, that is a very dangerous move," Ka-chan reprimanded, a hint of concern on her voice.

"Ehe…hehe….I _may_ have seen Tou-san making one and decided to try it for myself…" I replied hesitantly.

"Takara! You mean to say that you tried a jutsu without knowing exactly what would happen when you did? That jutsu has a high chakra cost, what if you fainted from exhaustion!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I should've researched it more before trying it. But it's so useful! I just got so fed up with failing on the regular clone."

Ka-chan sighed, and simply told me not to attempt any other jutsus unless I knew _exactly_ was I was getting into.

The rest of the day was pretty much just Ka-chan figuring out what exactly I could do. Given that I was old enough to have learned the skills that I possessed, I didn't feel the need to hide anything from her anymore.

Though she was somewhat surprised at my skill set, I also had a lot of room for improvement. Besides my knowledge of seals, I had mastery over the three jutsu they taught us at the academy, well, not the clone, shadow clone instead. I had a fair amount of control on my chakra, but there was a lot more chakra than I could really control. It would take several years for me to even attempt to control all of it.

One thing that I really wanted to learn from Ka-chan or anyone else who would teach me was kenjutsu. Swordplay was a beautiful yet dangerous art, and from what I'd seen, which was not much, it also seemed complex. I could always improve in the three main points of the shinobi arts, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. Learning more about fuinjutsu was also a top priority. If I could get good enough to actively use seals in battle, then I would be happy. Both Ka-chan and Tou-san were incredibly good with seals, and if I could get Jiraiya-sama to teach me, that would be even better. Unfortunately, he hadn't been around to Konoha since I was born, at least, that's what Ka-chan told me when I asked, so I didn't have much to hope for there.

For the next year, Ka-chan began to teach me everything she possibly could. Her seals, the Uzumaki clan taijutsu style, her go-to jutsu in a battle. I soaked up as much as I possibly could, each piece of knowledge quite valuable in my path to becoming a strong kunoichi. Eventually, Ka-chan asked a few others to come and help with my training. Kaiyo, Tou-san's sister, came in to teach me more about swordplay. She brought along her other student, Hayate Gekko, at times as well. Kaka-nii, when Tou-san could persuade him, taught me more ninjutsu.

I finally managed to get Tou-san to help out once we realized that my chakra affinity was wind like his. I savored those times a lot, because it was the spare moments when he wasn't swamped with work or when he could leave a shadow clone to do his work. Being Hokage took a lot more time than I realized, and though following in Tou-san's footsteps would be amazing, I also wanted to, at some point in time, have a family, and didn't know if I wanted the strain of such a demanding job.

It was about a year after I resigned from the academy that Ka-chan and Tou-san figured out where they were going to go after teaching me. It was fairly obvious that I really hadn't needed the academy anyways, besides the rules and regulations that I'd needed to learn. That was by far the most annoying and the part that I detested. It was just the most boring part, even if I didn't even do the reading myself, a shadow clone did it for me.

During this time, Tou-san had apparently been discussing with Sarutobi-jii what to do with me. To put me with another, regular genin team would hinder my performance. But they both wanted to instill a sense of teamwork in me, a value that Konoha placed as more important before anything else.

"So Takara-chan, Sarutobi-jii has given me a wonderful idea for continuing your training," Tou-san informed me, relaxing on the couch after a hard day of work.

I completed drawing a storage seal and rolled up the scroll after sealing away the brush and ink.

"And what might this idea be?"

"Sarutobi-sama originally suggested to add you into the current graduating class, but that would throw off the teams. In fact, they have an extra student as it is. Instead of creating a team of four, I've decided to take the top student from this class and put you together with Uchiha Itachi to create a heavy-hitting team."

I paused for a moment. That was actually a good plan, having a 'first response' team, so to speak, well-rounded and skilled in all areas, in the event that there is a situation that goes south, much like Tou-san's team. I had to wonder, if they'd been able to send for backup that was always on standby for emergencies, if they'd have survived.

"Interesting idea. How did the Uchiha take this?"

"They weren't too thrilled. They managed to keep him from being assigned to a team by means of apprenticeship as well, but as with you, I think that it's high time he learned to depend on more than just himself."

"Fair enough. Who will be our team leader?"

"That, you will find out later once you have your first meeting with your team. And before you ask, it is in three days at one of the training grounds."

"I can see the logic with your decision. I'll be upstairs if you want me," I informed him, taking the scroll with me as I retreated to my room.

_This should be interesting._

The morning of the meeting, I awoke bring and early, wanting to get some exercise in before meeting up with the team. After doing my calisthenics and showering, I dressed in what I decided was a suitable outfit. I pulled on fishnet underneath a golden yellow kimono top which tied closed with a large red obi and had long, black sleeves. Settling on plain black capris, I added my black shinobi sandals and a pair of black, fingerless gloves Ka-chan had given me.

_Where to put my hitai-ate…?_ I wondered, pondering the possibilities. On my forehead it would keep my bangs away, as it also would on the top of my head. It could go on my upper arm, but that wasn't very functional. I settled for across my throat, as it would provide just a little bit of extra protection.

As for supplies, my pouch was attached to my right leg and filled with the standard kunai and shuriken. The standard-issue katana that Kaiyo-ba had given me was strapped diagonal across my back.

_I really need to look into getting one designed specifically for me_, I thought as I looped the sash over my head and around one arm.

My sealing equipment was sealed into the storage seal that I had on my arm at all times now, far enough up my arm to be hidden under sleeves but still easily accessible.

"I'm all set," I called to Ka-chan and Tou-san as I descended the stairs on my way out the door.

"You looked…so grown up…" Ka-chan commented, grabbing me into a hug.

"Don't be sad, you knew it was going to happen eventually," I told her, hugging her back tightly.

"Just make sure that you're not going to play any more games Takara. You understand that, right?" Tou-san warned.

"I won't Tou-san. Love you both," I told them as I departed in a gust of air.

Arriving at the training ground, it seemed to be that I was the first one there, however that wasn't for long. I climbed up into a tree to perch on one of the branches, sitting against the trunk. Another person made their way into the clearing, noticing me immediately but choosing instead to sit across the way from my tree. I surveyed him for a moment. He had brown hair, a bit of a muscular build, more so than most kids his age, and wore a standard outfit of tan cargo pants and a plain black t-shirt. The way he ignored me told me he had a bone to pick with me, which did not bode well for the beginnings of this new team.

Itachi appeared not very much later, coming to rest beneath the tree I was lounging in.

"How have you been Takara?" he asked, placing a bento box his mother had likely made for his lunch next to him.

"Quite well. Ka-chan, Tou-san, and Kaiyo-ba have been pushing me hard, but lessened up a bit yesterday so that I could rest up for whatever our sensei had planned for today," I responded.

"Fair enough. Life's been a bit bland without you to add in a bit of your cheerfulness to be honest."

"Sorry about that. I've been busy, you've been busy, it's hard to find time when both of us are free anymore. How is Sasuke?"

"He's doing very well. Otou-sama is expecting him to be nothing more than the 'spare', which may seem like a blessing but I believe that it is also creating an inferiority complex in his mindset. He's still a wonderful child though."

"It sounds like you love him a lot. Naruto has been very active, always darting here and there throughout the house. Ka-chan has had to turn most of my training over to Kaiyo-ba just so she can keep an eye on him."

It was at that moment that our sensei chose to appear in the center of the training ground.

_Hm, I wonder why Tou-san recalled Kaiyo-ba from ANBU? Perhaps because he believes she'll push us further? But I thought she'd taught me a lot of what she knows. Obviously not if she's our new sensei… _I pondered.

"Alright kiddos, let's get to work," she called, motioning us to join her in the center. I hopped down gracefully and both Itachi and I made our way over, standing opposite of the other student who'd not even said a 'hello' to me.

"Let me make one thing straight," Kaiyo began. "You three are being trained to be the best of the best, as in, the cream of the crop of this generation. Otouto has tasked me with turning you three into a first response team, meaning that you will be the all-rounders who can do stealth, assassination, espionage, any number of tasks, as well as being fast enough to come to the aid of other teams should they need assistance. Your training will be nowhere _near_ a walk in the park, and since you three are the top, I will be expecting a lot out of you. Am I clear?"

We nodded, and she motioned for us all to sit down.

"One important thing for a first response team is teamwork. I've noticed a bit of tension in the group already, and we will get to that in a moment, however first we're beginning with the classic introduction. I'll start off to give you a model. I am Namikaze Kaiyo, the Yondaime's elder sister. I am an all-rounder shinobi, though specifically I am skilled in infiltration. I am twenty-nine years old, enjoy relaxing with my family, being out with friends, eating onigiri, and learning new things. My plans for the future are to train you three to the best of my abilities and then return to ANBU for a few years in order to become the ANBU commander. Kagaya, you're up next."

The other boy gave a sigh, and began to speak.

"My name is Kagaya Ryoba. I am twelve years old and have just graduated the academy. Taijutsu is my strength, though I have aptitude for ninjutsu as well. I like to swim and train, my favorite food is dango, and I plan to become the head of the hunter nin."

"Thank you. Uchiha," Kaiyo prodded.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, nine years old. Genjutsu is my strength, with or without my dojutsu, and I am adept at ninjutsu and taijutsu as well. I enjoy being with Takara and her family which gives me space from the pressures of being clan heir, as well as caring for my brother and being with my mother. My favorite food is pocky and I am going to follow in my father's footsteps to become the next leader of the clan."

Seeing as I was the last one left, I began to speak.

"I'm Takara Namikaze, daughter of the Yondaime. I am nearly eight, my birthday is in a week. My strength lies in fuinjutsu and ninjutsu, and I am skilled with kenjutsu as well as average at genjutsu and taijutsu. My favorite thing to do is be with my brother and mother and father, I like to hang out with Itachi, and I also enjoy learning new things. I am unsure as to what I am going to do at this point in time."

At this statement, I heard a snort from Ryoba.

"Is there something you would like to say Kagaya?" Kaiyo challenged.

"Yes, just that it would be so like you to not even know what you're going to do _Namikaze_," he taunted, spitting out my name like it had a bad taste.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It means that you _dropped out_ of the academy, miss 'I'm-so-special-I-get-to-go-early-and-even-then-I'm-not-that-good'."

That statement made me bristle, and I almost moved to strike him, but Kaiyo intervened.

"Takara! You don't need to resort to violence with your teammate at this moment. And Kagaya, don't antagonize your teammate either. Perhaps you don't know the full situation. Regardless, you three are going to get up and take a run with me around the village," Kaiyo reprimanded. Her lips twisted into a devious smirk. "Welcome to hell kiddos."

**砂時計**

**Original Jutsu in the chapter:  
>Kanzen'na chinmoku <strong>(Complete silence): A seal. This particular one is mid-level, fairly easy to write and perform. It muffles most of the sound one makes once active.

**Recommended Read:  
>Kunoichi's Burden: Village First <strong>by lilac haze  
>MinatoSakura  
>She was dying. She should have died. She was supposed to die but the Gods had other plans. Sakura is thrown back in the past, where a dangerously attractive blonde and a loud mouthed redhead have taken it upon themselves to make her life even more difficult. If Naruto's parents didn't get together, kami, she would be in a lot of trouble. In-progress.<p> 


	7. Advancement

It seems that I've finally gotten into a bit of inspiration for this story. That, or I actually have time now. Either way, I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter! :)

**砂時計**

I'm pretty sure all of us underestimated what we were getting ourselves into. I understood that we'd need an extensive amount of training for our chosen position, however I didn't know how much of a slave driver Kaiyo-ba could be! She'd been a bit softer training me alone, not babying me, but not driving me into the ground each and every single day as she did with us in the beginning.

On our first day, Kaiyo-ba had us running around Konoha several times over. The second we finished that, we were given five minutes to rest and then tossed into a spar, all three of us versus her. Dead tired from the extensive run, we'd resorted to mostly long-range jutsu in order to give our bodies rest. Itachi had been a bit better off than me and tried to engage her in a bit of a taijutsu spar, which lasted an impressive amount of time for how tired he was. Ryoba was pretty much helpless, seeing as his strength was taijutsu and he pretty much collapsed after the run. As for me, I used my seals to aid Itachi as much as possible.

"Well, you aren't terrible, but you also aren't the best bunch I've seen," Kaiyo commented after our spar was over. All three of us lay on the ground, softly gasping and panting for air.

"So are you trying to kill us or what?" I quipped, the snark that usually got me into trouble appearing when I'd least wanted it to.

"Kill you? No, not at all, more of a trial by fire. But, since you apparently think I'm such an overlord, I'd like to give you a…present…shall we say that I _was_ going to give you three tomorrow," Kaiyo-ba replied, smirking devilishly.

She retrieved a bag from a storage seal on her arm, emptying out twelve different band-looking things.

"These," she motioned to the items, picking one up to show us, "are going to become your new best friends. They are what's called weights, and in order for you three to improve your speed, you'll be wearing them a lot."

She divvied up the bands, four to each of us, and told us to put them on our wrists and legs. After she formed a few hand signs, I immediately felt the effects, my arms and legs dragging down to the ground and staying put as if they were practically glued.

"Later on I'll teach you three how to manipulate them, but for now, have fun," she informed us, her sugar-sweet tone telling me she was having waaaay too much fun with this. "We meet again tomorrow, same time, same place."

She _poof_-ed away in a shunshin, leaving the three of us to struggle with the weight.

"Perfect," I muttered, slowly but surely maneuvering myself into a sitting position.

"It seems that this will be an interesting experience," Itachi commented, struggling to stand next to me.

"I give up. She's gonna kill us all," Ryoba whined from the ground.

"Get up, you baby," I told him, unhappy that he wasn't even trying.

"I _can't_."

I huffed, and motioned for Itachi to grab one side of him. Lifting him up and setting him on his feet, I gave him a look.

"Either you're going to put in the effort or you're going to get us all in trouble. You want to grow stronger, right?" I questioned, getting an affirmative response. "So put your heart into it, struggle each day and work at it. Itachi and I didn't get our strength overnight. The harder you try, the more you'll improve. Remember that."

I turned away, and heard a small sigh. Ryoba left without saying another word, and Itachi and I moved in the opposite direction.

"Isn't your house that way?" I asked, watching the bustling people of the town as we slowly made our way.

"Yes, but I figured you could use some company on the way back, just in case you topple over," Itachi responded, a hint of a smirk appearing on his face.

"You did _not_ just tease me!" I exclaimed, slightly surprised.

"I _am_ capable of humor at times, I just never show it," Itachi responded.

"Emotionless blob," I teased back. "It's been good to talk to you again. Seems that we'll be spending more time together finally."

"That it does."

We conversed lightly the entire time back, and by the time we made it to my house, the sun was beginning to set.

"Have a good evening Itachi, I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?" I called as I entered my house.

"Good night Takara."

I trudged up the stairs, gave a cursory "Hi, my day was good, goodnight" to Ka-chan and Tou-san, and fell into bed, only taking off my pouch, hitai-ate, and shoes before falling into a deep sleep.

Our training remained difficult each and every day. If we got used to the weights on our bodies, Kaiyo-ba would simply increase the amount, leaving my muscles screaming at the end of every day. Once we got to the limit that the weights allowed, we had one merciful day off from training, but it wasn't exactly that merciful. We still kept the weights on, but we met up at my house instead. Kaiyo-ba had convinced Ka-chan and Tou-san to give us gravity seals, which would cause gravity to increase in the area around our bodies. Let me tell you, that was even worse than the first day we wore weights. There _were_ a few days in there where Kaiyo-ba would go 'easy' on us and let us run less or teach us different jutsu. But the main part of our training for those first months was purely physical.

Once we had reached an 'acceptable' level of fitness and speed, Kaiyo-ba backed off a bit on the physical side. We still ran and sparred and all of that, but she began to teach us other skills we'd need (finally). One of the first things that she tested us on was our chakra control ability and our chakra affinities. Ryoba and I had about the same amount of control on our chakra, which got me a bit of a barb from him, and Itachi was a fair bit better than us, though not perfect. It turned out that (as I'd known), my affinity was air, Itachi's was a dual affinity, fire and water, and Ryoba has lightning as his main affinity with water as a secondary one. Kaiyo-ba, it turned out, had earth as her main affinity and a bit of an affinity for wind as well, as it was a Namikaze family trait.

Since we now knew our strengths, Kaiyo-ba taught us as well as she could with her abilities, though she couldn't really help Itachi with his fire release. Though, she didn't really need to, as he had his entire clan of fire users to help him learn that.

Besides chakra affinity and our strengths, Kaiyo-ba taught us a few skills that were invaluable to any stealth teams, concealing our chakra signature for one thing. She taught us the basic genjutsu she knew, though it was not a strong point of hers, instead enlisting Kurenai Yuuhi, an up-and-coming young chunin with a great aptitude for the art.

Over the next year, all three of us improved drastically. We were assigned a few D-rank missions as a formality in the beginning, but everyone understood they were pointless for us. The entire meaning of D-ranks was to foster teamwork, which we were working on fairly well on our own.

As it turned out, the main reason why Ryoba hadn't liked me (or Itachi to an extent) was that we seemed to have everything. Here we were, genius prodigies from well-known families, paired with a no-name, average-skilled (in comparison) kid. We didn't have to work for a lot of the things that we had, they were given to us, well, everything besides our skills that is, but we'd had access to most anyone in the village to teach us. Ryoba, on the other hand, had had to fight tooth and nail for every inch of what he had. It wasn't that he wasn't cut out to be a ninja or that he was stupid, he just wasn't us, which created a bit of resentment, constantly being outclassed by kids three and four years his junior.

Eventually, I got fed up with it completely.

"Alright, what the hell is wrong with you Ryoba? Neither Itachi nor I have ever really done anything to slight you, and yet you hold some personal grudge against us," I questioned one day after training. He'd been especially standoffish and rude that day, making several remarks that I didn't really care for.

"You wanna know what my problem is? My problem is you Namikaze. You and the Uchiha prince over there," Ryoba responded. "Every single thing I have ever received or done has been on my own strength and by my own willpower. But then, then I get taken from my class where I was the top and lumped together with you two, two mere kids who outclass me in _everything_."

I was silent for a moment, mulling over exactly what he'd just said. It was true, I could see how that would be frustrating, but that didn't mean that he had to take it out on us.

"I can see where you're coming from, it _would_ be upsetting I suppose. But what is also not right is holding a grudge about it this long. It's been six months, you'd think you'd have dealt with it by now."

Another moment of silence passed, and I began to speak again.

"You have an incredible amount of potential, Ryoba. I've seen you and the way you study ninjustu. You may not think it, but it just comes easily to you, you understand it better than Itachi or I do. And your taijutsu? That's nothing to sneeze at, especially if you've only been taught the academy style. If you found your own, you'd easily become a formidable shinobi on your own. It just takes time and dedication."

"I…suppose…you could be correct. I _have_ been a bit wrapped up in resentment…."

_Well, admitting there's an issue is a start_.

"We have the exams coming up soon, we need to be prepared if all of us are going to make it to chunin."

There would be no problem with Itachi or I succeeding, but I didn't want to leave Ryoba in the dust. Believe it or not, even with all of his grumpiness and everything, he'd grown on me a bit, and he was also a good teammate. He was dependable in every situation and trustworthy enough to watch your back.

Following that day, Ryoba did cool the attitude a bit. He still wasn't too interested in being friends or anything like that just yet, but when at training he was a bit more open and amiable.

Once the chunin exams rolled around, it turned out that Kaiyo-ba had nominated us finally. She passed over the first because we were just beginning the skill and jutsu section of our training and she'd wanted more time. That had definitely upset the Uchiha, who wanted their prodigy advanced as quickly as possible, but as Itachi's jonin-sensei, Kaiyo-ba had the final say. When she put us up for the second, I'm fairly certain that we were all relieved. No more D-ranks or low-Cs, which bored the heck out of all of us really. We needed field experience to show just what we were capable of.

The day of the chunin exams finally arrived. Though there had been talk of holding exams in other villages to 'improve inter-village relations', it wouldn't be happening just yet, so this time the exams were still in Konoha. They had, however, changed and rearranged them since before the war. Originally, there had been only two stages, a knowledge test and a battle royale to determine who would be promoted. Now, they had add in a middle stage: a survival test in the dangerous Forest of Death. It was deemed that promotions were being too easily given, turning out a few ninja who were cannon fodder, and this was their solution.

Kaiyo-ba had told us nothing about the exam, insisting that we go in blind and use it to work on our adaptability skills, so we were only prepared with what we'd heard from others. I shunshined to Itachi's house that morning to meet him, and we both made our way to the academy where the first portion was being held.

"I don't believe it will be that difficult, after all, you've practically got a photographic memory," I commented to Itachi as we walked along.

"True, I would like to see if they could possibly cause any one of us three to slip up after Kaiyo-sensei's training regime," Itachi replied, both of us suppressing a shiver. There was one week during our training where Kaiyo-ba had devoted our time specifically to mental torture and working on what we feared and how strong we were.

"There will likely be situations that could end up with you tortured, so a strong mind is essential to any ninja," she'd said. "There are people like the Yamanaka or Ibiki out there who will do everything in their power to strip information from your mind, so you'd better be damn well prepared."

She'd followed this lovely speech by a few genjutsu meant to make us fight our fears, some of the strongest genjutsu she had in her arsenal. Of course, it usually wouldn't have worked on Itachi, but before putting us under, she'd placed a seal that disrupted chakra flow on all of us so that the only way to get out of said jutsu was her way, by defeating the fear. Not only that, but she'd convinced a member of the Yamanakas to come and help probe our brains one of the days, training us to build up our mental walls and resist such probing.

The moment that we stepped into the examination room, there was quite the rise in noise level. Many of the genin were chatting away, wondering about what exactly would be on the test. I spotted Ryoba and made my way over to join him, passing a group of my old classmates in the process.

"Hey look, it's _Takara-hime_," one of the girls mocked, eliciting laughter from the entire group. "You sure you can handle it here? I mean, it wouldn't be too _hard_ for you would it?"

There was more laughter, and I had to steel myself not to respond to any of the juvenile jesting.

_Don't do anything. Don't do anything. Don't do anything_, I repeated over and over again.

"What does you precious _Tou-san_ think of his dropout daughter? Bet he's _real_ ashamed," one of the boys commented loud enough so I could here.

_That's enough!_

I whipped around, sliding shrunken into my fingers and throwing them at him lightning-fast and with pinpoint accuracy. Said boy was now pinned to the wall was was standing in from of, shuriken dangerously close to his body and a certain part of his anatomy. I appeared in front of him, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Insulting me is one thing. Insult my family? You have hell to pay," I snarled, turning back to return to my group.

It was then that I'd noticed that the room had gone exceedingly quiet.

_Damn. Shouldn't have done that,_ I reprimanded myself as I rejoined Itachi and Ryoba. Itachi merely placed a hand on my shoulder, I suppose to calm me and keep me from any other rash decisions, and Ryoba smirked, laughing under his breath.

"At least you taught him a lesson Takara," he said, mirth dancing through his eyes.

Slowly, the volume level of the room returned to normal as conversation resumed. The boy's teammates took the shuriken out from around him and he turned away, merely glaring at me. I returned a saccharine sweet smile, hoping to Kami that I'd face him in finals so I could knock him down five pegs to where he belonged.

"Alright! Listen up you brats!" called the proctor, a jonin I was fairly familiar with, Ibiki Morino, one of the highest ranking T&I ninja. "My name is Ibiki Morino and I will be your examiner for this portion of the examination. Namikaze!" I turned to face him, casting an innocent expression on my face.

"Yes?"

"Fighting is not allowed at any time during this section of the exams. You are lucky that I haven't failed you on the spot! Just because you are the Hokage's daughter does not buy you special treatment! Now, anyone who goes against that rule will be severely punished from now on, and you do _not_ want to cross me. The exam will begin momentarily. Seat assignments are here on the desk, take a look and then you have exactly one minute to find your seat, sit down, and be silent. Understood?"

He moved away and a flood of people encompassed the desk. I twisted my way through, catching which seats we were assigned to, and returning to tell Itachi and Ryoba. They nodded and we split to find our assigned seats.

"This test is composed of several questions regarding both the shinobi rules and other knowledge that you must know if you are to become chunin," Morino called.

I was paying attention when I had the strangest feeling, that type of feeling where you know you've done something or seen something before but can't remember where. I didn't know why I felt that, I'd never taken the exams before, much less even been in this wing of the building. I zoned out for a moment, trying to figure out what I thought I remembered, but eventually giving up.

"…If you incorrectly answer more than a quarter of your test, you automatically fail. Those of you who cheat will also automatically fail, as well as your teammates. You have one hour beginning now," he finished, disappearing in a collection of leaves

I flipped the test over, scanning the words for a moment. I was beginning to answer the first few questions when I felt a bit of chakra collect on my page. It transferred over in a distinctive shape, and when I prodded it with my own chakra to make it move faster, it revealed itself to be words.

_Takara,  
>The whole point is to see how well we gather information, though you likely understood that just as quickly as I did. There are a few chunin interspersed in the room if my observations are to be believed. I copied the answers from one in front of me, and can transfer them to you if you'd like. In order to responded, write a message on your paper and thread your chakra through, taking to memory the form of the words. Send it to me and I should be able to read it.<br>Itachi_

I was impressed that he'd managed to get a message delivered by way of a 'chakra printing' of sorts.

_It's alright, I'll get my own answers. Have you told Ryoba?_

Following his directions, I formed the message and sent it his way.

_Yes, I have. And suit yourself,_ he replied.

_How did you figure this message thing out?_

_My Ka-san used to use this as one of her way of communication back when she was active. She taught it to me a while ago, I just haven't needed to use it. The unfortunate thing is it only works over short distances. But it is still untraceable._

_Alright. Let me get the answers and then perhaps we can continue this lovely talk._

I looked sideways to see a twitch at Itachi's lips before looking up to try and decipher who exactly was a chunin near me. It seemed that there was one a few rows ahead from the relaxed posture she had.

Silently drawing a seal on my paper, I used Itachi's method of transferring the marks to move it to the chunin. It allowed me to summon her paper and reverse summon mine back to her at the same moment, no one being he wiser that anything had actually taken place. I'd filled in the answers as far as I knew (which was most of it, and therefore enough to pass), but I'd wanted to see if I could actually pull that off. Leaning back with a satisfied smile, I waited for the time to run out. Up until this time, there had been many teams kicked out for cheating, and I enjoyed studying the reactions of the children who hadn't realized the point.

"Time's up!" Morino called eventually. "Pencils down!"

He waited a moment, allowing the kids to relax before moving on.

"Now, there is one thing that I didn't tell you all. A lot of time on the battle field, chunin will be called upon to make a judgement call that could mean survival or failure. Sometimes it comes down to the answer to a single question. My question to you is, will you be answering this question or not? Those who answer it incorrectly may never again become a ninja, and if one member of the team leaves, all three must."

There was looks of indecisiveness all around, and one or two people began to get up, obviously not cut out for the mental battle Morino was making. After a few minutes, three teams had left and it seemed like the rest were staying.

"Very well, it seems that those of you who are left are, at least, mentally prepared for what is ahead. I will now turn this over to the second proctor of the exam," Morino called.

Another jonin appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hello there, my name is Hideko Junji, and I am your second proctor. If you would all follow me to the next area please," he requested, though by the look in his eyes I could tell it wasn't necessarily a request.

_This should be interesting,_ I thought as we filed out and made our way to the next destination.

**砂時計**

**Recommended read:  
>Guardian of Fire<strong> by Agni  
>Gen<br>Starting over is never easy. Creating a new identity, facing different challenges isn't easy at all. Naruto must do all this because he must correct the mistakes of the present by traveling to the past.


End file.
